What is in a name - Rosetta ?
Introduction
The name ‘Rosetta’ means ‘little rose’. It is believed to have first appeared in Italy where it gained popularity during the Renaissance period. The connection to roses which have long been associated with love and beauty likely contributed to its appeal.
It has been used in the Halsall area since the early 1800s. Perhaps it was brought to the attention of this part of the world when the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 in Rosetta, Egypt.
This article gives a brief account of each of the women’s lives and just goes to show how different each life turned out to be.
The French found this stone during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt, however, when the British defeated the French, they took the stone to London in 1801 and it has been on display in the British Museum since 1802.
The stone’s importance lies in the fact that it was inscribed with Egyptian texts in hieroglyphics and demotics as well as Ancient Greek – which is what made the Rosetta Stone key in deciphering these Egyptian scripts during the early part of the 19th century.
In Halsall, the name Rosetta was first given to Rosetta Hesketh, a farmer’s daughter in 1803. Could it be that she was named after Rosetta the town in Egypt or even the Rosetta Stone?
Table of Contents
Click on Family Name to scroll down to the person
Click on FS Reference for FamilySearch information
| Family name | Married Name | Birth | Death | Location | FS Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosetta Hesketh | Blundell | 1803 | 1860 | Northmoor Lane | MRQH-M99 |
| Rosetta Sumner | Partington | 1841 | 1909 | Liverpool, Workhouse | LW36-5RK |
| Rosetta Hesketh | Lang Baldwin | 1849 | 1893 | Morris Lane (Boat Family) | M6X4-F4L |
| Rosetta Houghton | 1851 | 1852 | Scarisbrick | G1S9-Z2G | |
| Rosetta Houghton | 1855 | 1925 | Scarisbrick, Morris Lane, & Southport | 9JNQ-W82 | |
| Rosetta Rimmer | Carr | 1854 | 1924 | Morris Lane | 9JNM-JD1 |
| Rosetta Harrison | Buck | 1865 | 1923 | Holt Farm, Carr Moss Lane | 9JN9-CG3 |
| Rosetta Mawdsley | Rimmer | 1867 | 1937 | Morris Lane (Boat Family) | M646-LH5 |
| Rosetta Marshall | 1884 | 1928 | La Mancha Lodge, Renacres Lane | 9JNS-PNT | |
| Rosetta Bond | Mohapel | 1887 | 1966 | Carr Moss Lane | 9JNS-1H6 |
| Rosetta Rimmer | 1895 | 1970 | Model Farm, Carr Moss Lane | GG26-MQZ | |
| Rosetta Thompson | Baybutt | 1902 | 1952 | Gettern Mere Farm, Carr Moss Lane | GGVW-S45 |
Rosetta Hesketh
Rosetta (Rose) Hesketh MRQH-M99 was born in 1803 in Halsall to Mary and James Hesketh, a farmer. Rose was baptised on 15th May 1803 at Ormskirk Parish Church. In the summer of 1827, as Rosetta Hesketh, 24 years old, she married Thomas Blundell, also a farmer. They had four children together namely James, Elizabeth, Cuthbert and Mary before Thomas died in 1840.
A year later, when the 1841 census was taken, Rosetta and her family plus two servants were living in the centre of the village and Rosetta’s occupation was a farmer. By 1851 the family had moved to Northmoor Lane and they were farming 48 acres of land.
In the Mannex Directory for 1854 (the equivalent of the Yellow Pages!), we can see that Rosetta Blundell is listed alongside other farmers in Halsall at that time. Rosetta died in December 1860 and was buried at St. Cuthbert’s church on 26th December 1860.
Rosetta Sumner
Next we have Rosetta Sumner LW36-5RK who led a completely different life to Rosetta Hesketh above. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Johnson and James Sumner, a labourer from Morris Lane in Halsall. This Rosetta was born in 1841, being baptised on 6th June of that year at St. Cuthbert’s church.
At the age of 19, she married Richard Partington, a victualler in Liverpool. He was 26 years her senior and had been married twice before. After their wedding on 25th January 1860, they set up home at 27 Bedford Street, Toxteth, Liverpool. So at the age of 19, Rosetta was step-mother to Richard’s two sons, Thomas aged 15 and William aged 11. She went on to have two children of her own – Elizabeth and Richard. However in 1873 her husband, Richard died and she was left with the children.
In 1881 Census her daughter Elizabeth was living with Jane Sumner, Rosetta’s sister, in Halsall. Richard, her son, was living with his uncle, John Partington in The Lord Seldon public house in Liverpool.
There is no sign of Rosetta in the 1881 census – perhaps she was working as a housekeeper or servant as this was the case in 1891 and 1901.
Unfortunately, worse was to come as on 21st September 1907, Rosetta referred herself to the Liverpool Workhouse on Brownlow Hill where she lived until she passed away there on 21st January 1909. When this workhouse was demolished the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral was built on this site, being completed in 1967.
Rosetta Hesketh
We next have another Rosetta Hesketh M6X4-F4L , she was born in 1848 to Alice Abram and Thomas Hesketh and baptised on 24th September 1848 at St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall. The Heskeths were a boat family, their vessel being called ‘Mary Alice’ according to the 1871 census for Liverpool. The Heskeths appeared on the 1851, 1861 and 1871 census for Halsall while Rosetta was on the 1881 and 1891 Census.
Rosetta had three children: Harriet b.1870, Alice Rosetta b. 1872 and John b. 1875, all of whom were baptised at Halsall. No mention is made of a father in the church records, however Richard Dalton KJ2G-C2P, a farm labourer from Plex Lane, Halsall is mentioned in the Affiliation cases in 1870 when he was ordered to pay Rosetta Hesketh 2s 6d per week.
Rosetta Hesketh married James Lang, a boatman, on 13th March 1879. They had two daughters together – Hannah and Mary. Sadly, at the age of 35 years, James died in 1885 – only 6 years after the marriage, leaving Rosetta with five children.
A year later, on 12th November 1886 Rosetta married for a second time. Her husband was another boatman, John Baldwin and they had two more children together: Samuel and Cicely Baldwin. For further information regarding boat families of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, refer to the Ormskirk & District Family History Society website Boat Families.
Rosetta lived in Morris Lane all her life and passed away on 9th June 1893 at the age of 45 years. She too was buried at St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall.
Rosetta Houghton
Rosetta Houghton 9JNQ-W82 , was the daughter of Ellen Houghton. She was born in Scarisbrick on 31st March 1855 and baptised at St Cuthbert’s Halsall on 2nd November of that year.
Tragically this was not Ellen’s first child, she had an earlier birth on 2nd October 1851 and also called this child Rosetta [G1S9-Z2G] but the baby died on 2nd March 1852 of Scarlet Fever.
Rosetta appears in the 1871 census for Scarisbrick living with her grandmother. Next she is in the 1881 census for Halsall working as a servant for Richard [G2WL-GN6] and Charlotte Shakelady, farmers on Plex Lane, Halsall.
Rosetta and Ellen then reappear in the Census records in 1921 living together at 91 London Street in Southport. Ellen is 86 and still working for a local doctor , Rosetta is 66 and has recorded two private employers. These occupations were coded as Domestic Servants ( 900/06)
Rosetta Houghton’s death is recorded in 1925 at Ormskirk. She was 70 years old.
Rosetta Rimmer
The name Rosetta was popular along Morris Lane in Halsall. Rosetta Rimmer 9JNM-JD1, was born there in 1854 to Mary Aspinwall and Robert Rimmer, an agricultural labourer. She was baptised at St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall on 25th June 1854.
She married John Carr, a gardener from Newburgh in 1877 and they lived in Birkdale. They seemed to move around the Southport area over the years, living at addresses in Church Street, Bright Street and Wennington Road. John also had a variety of jobs including a railway porter and a carter. The couple had five children: Mary, James, Ellen, Robert and Frederick. Rosetta died on 1st March 1924.
Rosetta Harrison
Carr Moss Lane is our next destination, namely Holt Farm where the Harrison family lived. Rosetta Harrison 9JN9-CG3 was born in 1865 and baptised on 9th July 1865 at St. Cuthbert’s Church, Halsall. Her parents were Margaret Grimshaw and Joseph Harrison, a farmer. Joseph Harrison has a separate biography as one of the first councillors of Halsall Parish Council.
Rosetta married John Buck KJG2-QDY, a farmer from Shirdley Hill in 1904. In the early 1920s they moved to Cottage House Farm, Much Hoole, Preston. However, Rosetta sadly died in 1923, not long after they moved there.
John re-married in 1934 – to Mary Ellen Birch – who was 18 years younger than him. John passed away in 1947 and was buried with Rosetta, his first wife. He is however referred to as being the husband of Mary Ellen Buck as well on the gravestone, although she isn’t buried in the same grave.
Rosetta Mawdsley
Now we return to Morris Lane and another boat family. This time it is Rosetta Mawdsley (Rose) M646-LH5 who was the daughter of Elizabeth Mawdsley and possibly her partner Thomas Snape. Elizabeth and Thomas were not married. Thomas had been married to Elizabeth’s sister Catherine who died in 1869. Looking at the records it appears that he then fathered a number of Elizabeth’s seven children.
Rosetta was born on 28th January 1868 in Halsall and baptised on 12th February 1868 at St. Cuthbert’s, Halsall.
She was also baptised at St. Peter’s in Liverpool on 9th April 1869.
This could have been to gain a ‘Right of Settlement’ as being baptised meant you were recorded in that parish. If at some later date, you or your parents became destitute and needed parish relief, the ‘Right of Settlement’ came into play and you were entitled to payments from the parish where you were registered. Some people played the system and had their children baptised in more than one parish!
However, Rosetta seemed to live a long, healthy life. She married James Rimmer in 1892 and they had a son, Peter. They lived at Weaver House Bridge next door to Robert Snape, her half-brother and sisters Margaret and Frances.
She too lived on Morris Lane all her life until she passed away on 17th August 1937.
Rosetta Marshall
We now visit Shirdley Hill and the first person to be named Rosetta here was Rosetta Marshall 9JNS-PNT. She was born in 1884 to Elizabeth Rimmer and John Marshall who had their youngest child baptised on 31st August 1884 at St. Cuthbert’s church.
The family lived at La Mancha Lodge in Shirdley Hill. The couple had 5 children: James, Jane, Alice, John and Rosetta. Elizabeth would have been 21 years old when she gave birth to James and 43 years old when Rosetta was born. John Marshall was an agricultural labourer on the La Mancha Estate.
The Morris family were living at La Mancha Hall at this time and then the Hattersley family and then Blundell family from the early 1900s.
When the 1911 census was taken, there was only Elizabeth, Rosetta and John Walsh, grandson of Elizabeth living at the lodge. The 1911 census sought to collect more details from the residents of towns and cities up and down the country. This census asked if anybody in the household was infirm and the ‘infirmity column’ can be found at the very end of each page. Next to Rosetta’s details we can see that she is described as ‘imbecile’ which to our modern ears sounds cruel. However, the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913 defines ‘imbecile’ as ‘incapable of managing themselves or their affairs’. Given that Elizabeth gave birth to Rosetta in her forties and that Rosetta passed away at the age of 44 in 1928, we could surmise that Rosetta had Down’s Syndrome – although we will never really know.
Rosetta Bond
Next we visit Carr Moss Lane again and Rosetta Bond 9JNS-1H6, daughter of Mary Croston and Richard Bond, farmers. Rosetta was baptised on 28th September 1887 at St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall.
In 1910 she married Gustav Emmanuel Mohapel, an Austrian who was born in Vienna. The young couple moved to Broughton in Salford and set up home at 38 Manley Street. Gustav worked as a baker and confectioner all his life. They had two children named Gustav and Mary, after Rosetta’s mother. Mary also worked as a confectioner alongside her father in Manchester according to the 1939 Register for England and Wales.
Rosetta passed away in 1966. Three years later, Gustav married again – this time to Caroline Emberton in 1969. Gustav died on 23rd November 1979 at the grand age of 96 years old.
Rosetta Rimmer
On to Summerwood Lane now and 12th March 1895 which was when Rosetta Rimmer GG26-MQZ was born. Rosetta was the daughter of Margaret Maddocks and John Rimmer, a farmer and breeder of shire horses.
Rosetta was named after Rosetta Maddocks, her maternal grandmother who lived in nearby Altcar. Rosetta’s first address was Chestnut Farm on Summerwood Lane when she was a baby and then the family moved to Model Farm, Plex Lane.
She didn’t marry or have children and lived until 75 years of age. She died in 1970 and was buried at St. Cuthbert’s Halsall with her parents, brother Hugh and sister-in-law Doris.
Rosetta Thompson
Finally, we meet Rosetta Thompson (Doris or Dolly) GGVW-S45 who was born on 14th February 1902 – almost one hundred years after the first Rosetta Hesketh who was born in 1803.
Rosetta Thompson was the cousin of Rosetta Rimmer GG26-MQZ of Model Farm, above and was also named after Rosetta Maddocks nee Burgess 9KV6-SHX, her grandmother. Rosetta’s mother, Emma, was the sister of Rosetta Maddocks G3B2-8MD, her aunt, who lived in Altcar. Four Rosettas in 3 generations of this family.
Rosetta’s father was Henry Thompson, a farmer at Gettern Mere Farm, Carr Moss Lane. More is written about Rosetta and the Thompson family under ‘Landmarks – Gettern Mere Farm’.
Thanks to Alan Bolton for the photograph of Rosetta Thompson.
If anybody has any further information or photographs of any of the Rosettas of Halsall, please get in touch via the contact details on this website.
For further information regarding boat families of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, refer to the Ormskirk & District Family History Society website Boat Families
